To begin anew
by Furby Flame
Summary: His family had already passed away, leaving him with a family heirloom, a dual ether swords. He trained by himself to master the swords while hunting animals to survive by himself. One day, he decided to go to Orario, and on his journey, he heard about the sword princess. Forgetting that most adventurers there had a blessing, which he seemed to forget, not until someone remind him.
1. chapter 1

Reaching the wall of Orario, stood a boy, dual ether strapped upon his back in a cross shape.

Hair as white as snow, added with the ruby coloured eyes that seemed to be hiding the deep fiery spirit inside it.

His clothing style were pretty unique, in a sense that the guards had never seen before.

The guards looked at the boy cautiously, but upon seeing the boy's innocent looking appearance, they let him through.

It was normal to see so many people passing by as Orario was the central for adventurers wannabe.

\--New Scene--

Orario was crowded, just like always as crowds of adventurers moved towards a single tall tower that stood upon the entrance of the Dungeon, the Babel Tower.

Created by the gods to seal the entrance of the Dungeon as to prevent the leakage of never-ending spawns of monsters from reaching the surface.

Busy businessmen tried to attract adventurers to their stalls as competitions were relatively high.

Many armors, weapons, merchandise and other stuff were being displayed, with every stalls had a bit difference in their displayed items.

At one of the streets in Orario, something was happening as the flow of crowds seemed to be slower than usual.

And the source of this anomaly was non other than a white hair boy, casually walking down the street, while his eyes constantly moving as he enjoyed the architecture, the many stalls by the side street, and the different races mingled together in Orario.

It was not like everyday they could see a person wearing an eye catching outfit in broad daylight, added with the two beautiful swords strapped on his back.

Unfortunately, they were some that didn't value their own life as they tried to approached the boy in an intimidating way.

They were five male, three of them seemed to be a warrior type, with a single large sword and an adequate armor on their bodies, two of them were a magician type, with staff at their hands.

"Hey! Yer new here, huh? Got some nice pair of weapons yer got there. Mind me borrowing it?"

One of the male, circled the boy and went to his back as he tried to reach the weapons with his right hand.

"Don't touch it. Or else."

"Oh? They're valuable ain't there. Ya hear that! Or else... Hahaha!"

The four male laughed along as if to belittle the boy.

He knew that troubles will always came to find him, whether he was at home or here.

Since Orario was the city of adventurers, some good hearted passerby were on their way to lend a hand to the boy.

When suddenly...

In a split second, the two swords disappeared from the boy's back, leaving an empty sheath for the male1 to see.

*thud*

Seemingly, the man fell down to the ground, as he felt a blunt force hitting his stomach.

Seeing their friend on the ground, the other four decided to act as the two warrior lunged at the boy, one slash aimed at his head, while the other aimed at his chest in a thrust.

The right ether sword deflected the sword that was aimed at his head, while the left ether sword deflected the other sword.

Instantly, he moved through the four of them, while he was rotating in a clockwise motion, leaving the four of the male laying on the ground, as they clutched their stomachs in pain.

He whipped his two ether swords, before he secured them to his back.

He turned around, facing the incapacitated males on the ground, "I did warn all of you."

The five male stood up, ready to pounce on the boy, when other adventurers started to intervene.

A few moments later, the commotion had died down as the side that had initiated the fight first walked away, of course with revenge on their mind.

\--New Scene--

"(So she's here, right? I wonder how strong she really is... man this building is big.)"

Standing in front of Loki familia main base, the Twilight Manor stood majestically in front of the boy.

He knocked on the door once, but no one was answering him.

He knocked for the second time, and still no one was answering him.

"(Now what?)"

Standing there for awhile, he finally had decided to stay in front of the door, waiting for someone to come out or came back home.

\--New Scene--

Loki and her familia had arrived back at their base, just to see a boy leaning on the door, as he was sound asleep.

It was a peculiar sight to see a person sleeping in front of their home, especially strangers.

"Your friend, Bete?" Tione asked Bete, which irritated him greatly.

"Huh! He's ain't my friend you dimwit!"

Tione looked at her sister Tiona, "Sis! Bete is bullying me again!"

"Captain... so how about tomorrow? Just you and me." Tiona said as she ignored Tione.

"Sorry, got work to do." Finn said to her.

Loki approached the boy and poke at him, trying to wake the boy up from his sleep.

A soft groaned escaped from the boy's mouth as he shifted his body, still comfortable in his sleep.

"Oi, boy! Wake up! Yer blocking the entrance, you know?"

A few mumbling sound came out of the boy's mouth as his body moved a bit...just a bit.

"Maybe he needs some water smash out! What do you think Aiz!" Tione exclaimed excitedly.

"...maybe."

With that, Tione went to get a bucket and filled it up with water.

From far away, Tione could be seen getting ready to sprint as her eyes had this childish glint in it.

"Get ready!" Tione screamed as she ran towards the sleeping boy.

She was gaining speed as others gave way to Tione.

Beside, Tione was a high leveled adventurer.

"Water smash!!!" Tione screamed as she released the bucket of water to the unsuspecting boy.

*splash*

"Whaaa!" Bell screamed in surprised.

Bell woke up to find that he was drenched.

He looked in front of him to see a girl... an Amazon.

He looked around and noticed there were a lot of people in front of him, which he guessed were the Loki familia.

There were crowding the area. If not the Loki familia, then who were they?

A red-haired female stood in front of the boy, "So, whatcha doin sleeping here, boy?" She asked.

The boy rubbed the back of his head as he apologized, "S-Sorry! I fell asleep here."

Then, he remembered his objective... why he had came here.

His demeanor changed into a serious one, "Um... I'm here to challenge the 'sword princess' into a sword fight!" He looked at Loki with a strong gaze.

The scene went quiet as the crowd processed the words that the boy had uttered.

"Hahaha! This boy-" Bete spoke.

"Okay. Fight right here. Aiz!" Loki said, cutting off Bete's words.

Loki went away with the rest of the familia as to provide space for Aiz and Bell to fight.

"Oi, oi. Are you sure about this." Gareth asked Loki.

"C'mon...cut some slack. It's just a spar." Loki looked at the two, "Introduce yourself will ya." She spoke to the two competitors.

"...Aiz Walleinstein." She said, no emotion on her face.

"Bell Cranell!" He said, feeling excited.

"(Okay! This is it! The s-strongest swordsman in Orario... damn she's so beautiful! Focus!)"

Bell took a deep breath as he felt his own body relaxed.

This was it! He was going to fight with a master swordsman... or swordswoman?

"3... 2... 1... start!"

Aiz lunged towards Bell with a greater speed, her weapon 'Desperate' was thrusted towards Bell's chest.

Bell tried to deflect the blade with his right ether blade, but felt it to be unmovable, so he pushed his right blade harder so that he will be propelled to the side.

He avoided her thrust, but she turned towards him with an upwards slash, which he blocked by crossing both of his swords.

The impact was powerful as he was propelled three medre into the air.

While he was still in the air, Aiz sprinted out of his sight, and went at his back.

She jumped and tried to kick him in mid air, which he reacted by securing his two swords back into its sheath that were strapped on his back.

*boom*

Bell was propelled hard to the ground, groaning in pain.

"(Too fast!!! Is this the difference between the two of us...)" Bell contemplated as he tried to get up.

Both his hands were trembling from the force of his swords colliding with Aiz's sword.

He wipe the blood that came out of his nose with his hand.

"And over!" Loki announced.

Cheers erupted from the others, congratulating Aiz for winning again.

"Hahaha, that was the fastest fight ever." Bete said sarcastically.

Others were laughing at what Bete was saying, but Finn was wearing a serious expression.

"(His reaction is fast... and I seem to notice that he couldn't move Aiz's sword. He tried to deflect it... don't tell me...)"

Loki went towards the boy, "Get up boy! Tell me which familia yer from, and I'll pay for your medication!"

Bell looked at Loki, confused, "I've just arrive here in Orario..."

The scene was silence once again as the words that the boy had said was a surprise.

"(Like I suspected. He have not receive any blessing yet. My goodness...)" Finn thought as he sighed.

Bell wobbly stood up and gave a bow, "Thank you for the fight. You're stronger like what people have said. I'm honored to have fight you!" He said.

And he wobbly walked away, but was grabbed by Loki.

"And where do ya think yer goin?"

"Um... searching for a familia... to join... and get a... Blessing!!!" Bell said happily.

"(Hm? Blessing?...)"

Slowly, his face morphed into a look of utter devastation as he realized something.

"(That's right!!! Blessings!!! How could I forget about that!!!)" He thought to himself.

It was a miracle that he didn't die fighting Aiz.

Loki laughed at the boy, and feeling a little bit interested at the boy.

The two swords on his back, added with his unique looking clothes, Loki had made her decision.

"Boy... come join my familia." She extended her right palm to him.

Bell looked at her as he ingested the words that Loki had said.

He looked at the hand that was being extended, and made his decision.

Bell smiled and grabbed Loki's palm as he said "yes!".

Immediately, Tione hugged Bell, "Welcome to the Loki familia. My name is Tione!"

Bell was red as a tomato, being hugged by the female Amazon.

The boy mumbled something incomprehensible words as his eyes were unfocused.

Slowly, Aiz approached Bell, "...Welcome." Which Bell managed to replied through sheer willpower alone. "T-thanks..."

"(T-They're touching! They're touching!! Gaaa!!!!)"

He never knew that he was weak against 'this', and he tried to pry away from the two female Amazon, but failed to do so as their gripped were strong.

"Oi Goddess? Why are you taking him in? This weak-" Bete complained.

"I agree with Goddess." Finn interjected.

"Finn?! Why!?"

"Why? You know it, right?" Finn asked back.

"Well... sigh. I guess he got some skill...But I ain't gonna give him special treatment!" Bete walked away, and went into the Twilight Manor.

Loki turned towards her familia, "So, you all have heard that, right! This boy will join our familia from now on!"

Cheers erupted in an instant as the familia welcome the boy into the familia.

Eventually, all of the Loki familia went inside the Twilight Manor, leaving Bell with Loki outside.

"Well, ain't cha goin in?" Loki asked the white haired boy.

"C-can I?" Bell asked.

"Where's that gutsy boy just then? That dared to challenge my Aiz, huh?" Loki furrowed her eyebrows.

"W-Well... that was a fight... so of course I need to get serious..." Bell replied.

"So? What you wish for, leaving yer nest and come here at Orario?"

"I... I want to be an adventurer...and make my family proud..." He looked up into the sky. "I know they're watching me right now..."

Loki approached the boy and gave him a gentle hug, "I'm sure they do... And heck, they'd be happy that their son is with the strong Loki familia!" She ruffled his white hair, surprised that it felt... pretty good.

*ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle*

"Um... G-Goddess?"

Bell was getting uncomfortable as he had just experienced being hugged by the two female Amazon before.

*ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle*

Soon, he was released by Loki as she guided him inside the Twilight Manor.

\--New Scene--

"Well, Bell? Get inside. I'm blessing you."

"O-Ok!" He looked at the room where Loki resided.

"Wow!" He exclaimed as he looked at the wide space of the room, seemingly lost in its grandeur.

"Strip down, Bell..." Loki said in the most seductive way she could possibly said.

Instantly, his head rapidly turned towards Loki, his eyes widen in shocked.

"(Is that how blessings work!)" Bell thought.

Instantly, Loki laughed, "Just kiddin Bell. Just take off yer shirt, and it'll be done in a jiffy! He he... I was thinkin, maybe you're the pure type of boy. I guess you have some knowledge regarding...'that', right Bell." Loki smiled evilly at him.

"W-Well, um, my grandfather once taught me... regarding 'that' so... um..." He looked down, feeling embarrassed.

"(Hehehe... this is fun... If Aiz reacted like this, I would be pretty happy. Guess, I'll teased this boy then!)"

Loki beckoned Bell towards her bed as she needed him to lay his body on the bed.

Maybe she could tease him?

Slowly, Bell took off his shirt, and Loki had noticed that there were many scars on his back.

Her demeanor had changed as she eyed each one of the scars covering the boy's body.

Most of it were small scars and cuts, but there were a few that were quite a large scars.

She put her hands on the many scars, "This is? Where you got them?" She frowned, feeling angry.

Bell seemed hesitant at first, but then, he decided to tell Loki of his history.

"...I was left with my heirloom, which some tried to take it away from me. They said I don't need the heirloom and stuff... so I ran away from the village. I was a child back then... so it was hard, living in the wild. Wolves and bears were everywhere back then..." He said as he looked at the scars on his right stomach.

Feeling that the topic was pretty sad, he tried to lighten it up, "But it's all in the past anyway! Now I'm here! I will live a good life!"

Loki smiled at him, "Well then, lay down. I'm goin to bless you now."

Bell laid down on the bed, his back facing Loki.

Suddenly, he felt Loki straddled his back, "G-Goddess-"

"Shhh... don't disturbed me during this holy ceremony." Loki stated.

Slowly, many black hieroglyphs emerged on Bell's back.

\--Bell Status--

Strength: I 0

Defense: I 0

Dexterity: I 0

Agility: I 0

Magic: I 0

Magic

Skill

Realis Phrase: Rapid Growth, continued desire results in continued growth, stronger desire results in stronger growth.

\--Bell Status--

"(This... oh my... this kind of skill...)" Loki looked at the boy beneath her.

Soon, she erased the skill part, knowing that if somehow, other gods were to know about this, they will definitely tried to get the boy.

"(And beside... he had gone through enough pain...)"

And in Loki's mind, a certain silver haired goddess came to mind, which made her frowned.

"(I hope she won't try to steal him... if not... I guess there will be a bloodbath...)" Loki thought as she got off the boy.

"Here. Your status sheet."

"(Eventhough we're friends... I ain't letting any of my familia be stolen!)"

"So... um.." Loki snapped out of her thought by Bell. "Do you think I can stood by the others? I-I mean, Aiz was pretty strong... and the two amazon... then there's that wolf boy... all of them seems strong..."

"Well, I don't know whether you will manage to catch up to them. They've been doing this for a long time than you, Bell. But maybe, if you train hard enough... you might be able to stand by their side... so... get yer ass movin!"

"Yes!" He replied as he went out of Loki's room.

"Sigh... Bell. Your shirt!" Loki said as she looked at the piece of clothing.

Immediately, he went back in to get his shirt as he said "sorry!" to Loki.

With that, the day had ended with the Loki familia gaining a new member to train, a new child to take care, and a new family to celebrate tonight.

000000000

Well... challenge partially accepted?

29/8/2018


	2. chapter 2

It was early in the morning, the sun was still beneath the horizon, while the stars were still shining upon Orario, twinkling about as the sky was cleared of clouds.

Somehow, Bell had woke up early as he arranged his bed.

He looked at his five by five medre room, which seemed to be a bit spacious for him.

Looking at beside his bed, there were two ether swords leaning against the wall of his room.

'Reazeus' and 'Herana'...the name of the two ether swords.

'Reazeus' was the dark black blade with a red handle, while 'Herana' was the dark black blade with a white handle.

He knew about the name of the blade from a letter, which was kept with the two ether blade, which he had found during his escape from his village.

Back to Bell, he looked at a door, which was connected to the bathroom, and proceeded to wash his face and brushed his teeth.

Few minutes later...

Looking at the clock on his room, it was 4.53 a.m., which was still early, so he decided to take a walk, trying to explore the Twilight Manor.

As he walked through the corridor, he heard something in the distance.

Curious, he tried to approached the source of the sound.

Slowly, he was getting closer to a place that could be seen as a very large garden, grasses filled up the ground as there were some trees at the place.

The ceilings had a couple of small windows, which allowed the light to pass through.

Unfortunately, it was still early in the morning, but the garden had another source of light, which came from some mushrooms that emitted light.

He saw a tree and decided to hide behind it, as he tried to take a peek beyond the tree.

swish* *swish* *swish*

The flow of her sword, added with her graceful movement was captivating to Bell's eyes.

The focused in her eyes were unwavering, as she committed herself to training, her movement seemed to be elegant, but swift.

Bell pried his eyes away, and leaned back at the tree as he was thinking.

"(Wow...she's working really hard even though she's strong! I must work hard too! Well, after she's finished training...I guess I'll train...)"

He turned around, his head moved to the side of the tree to peek at her.

Unknown to him, Aiz had detected his presence, and decided to greet him as she approached the tree.

She went passed the tree just to bump into Bell, which was at the same time that Bell had decided to peek at her.

His head was tilted slightly, which allowed their nose to pass by each other, allowing both of their heads to move closer to each other.

smooch*

"..." (Bell and Aiz)

Their lips overlapped, as both eyes went wide, stunned at what had just transpired.

They literally became statues, unmoving with their lips still overlapping.

Bell slowly stepped back, breaking the contact of their lips, while their eyes were locked at each other.

Just one step, and he returned to being a statue, as the both of them looked at each other, not knowing what to do next.

Bell's cheeks were burning up, the colour red spread throughout his face.

Aiz cheeks were slightly tinted with red, as she looked at Bell, and then on his lips that she had bumped with her own.

Bell expected that by now, Aiz would threw insults and curses at him.

What he didn't expect was...

"...Sorry..." Aiz said as she looked away, surprising even herself.

"...N-No I-It was not your fault! I mean it was an accident! And I tried to peek you training. Um..." (Bell)

"..." (Bell, Aiz)

"(I-I kissed her!!! Why did she apologize-no! Why is her face so...deadpan? M-Maybe I'm thinking too much...maybe this is normal, here...)"

"...It's your first kiss...right.." Aiz asked him with her face looking at the ground like something interesting was there.

"...yes..." Bell said in a weak voice as he rubbed the back of his neck with one of his hand.

"(Ahh...she have the experience already...no wond-)" (Bell)

"It's my first too..." (Aiz)

Bell's eyes went wide as he was shocked, realizing that he had just taken her first kiss, which made him feel fulfilled for some reason.

The silent awkwardness continued once more, as both were avoiding each other eyes.

"...Y-You want to train..." Aiz stuttered, surprising herself once more.

"Yes! Of course! Let's go train! Yes!" (Bell)

And so, the two trained until Bell had decided to quit as he made his way to his room to take a shower.

Seeing his figure disappeared fom her sight, she also made her way towards the shower room.

\--New Scene--

Loki sat at the end of the long table, with Bell sitting at her right, and Aiz sitting at her left.

Next to Aiz was Tiona, followed by Tione, Reveria, Lefiya and other females.

Next to Bell was Finn, Bete, Gareth, and other males.

"Hey, Aiz. Looked at Bell. Isn't he cute, nibbling his food like a kid, hm?" Tiona whispered at Aiz, prompting her to look at Bell.

Loki couldn't help but noticed the weird atmosphere between the newcomer and Aiz, as Aiz had this little red tinted cheeks, each time her eyes met with Bell's eyes.

Although, her face was expressionless like always.

Meanwhile, Bell's cheeks were tinted red constantly.

"(I will ask him later...)" (Loki)

\--New Scene--

With everyone had already filled up their belly, all the members of Loki familia had dispersed, as they went out to explore the Dungeon.

But only one was left behind, which was currently inside Loki's bedroom, down on both of his knees.

Loki was circling him as she looked at him with her eyes.

"So...did something happen between you and Aiz?"

His body jolted once, prompting a curious look from Loki.

"You can't lie to me...and I recommend you to not lie yer way, ok?" She said, which sounded more like a threat to him.

With no way to lie, he decided to tell Loki the truth.

"I-I k-kissed Aiz!" (Bell)

Loki blanked out for a short second, as she was stunned by his words.

"Can yer repeat!?" (Loki)

"I-I k-kissed Aiz!" (Bell)

Taking a moment to register the information, she continued, "...lips?" (Loki)

He nodded his head just like a machine, up and down vigorously.

"(How!? He just joined yesterday?! What sorcery is this!! In terms of strength, Aiz should be stronger than Bell...or did Aiz let him kissed her...)"

Loki's face was changing into a frown, her eyes glaring at Bell as if to pierce him, jealous that her most precious children was taken.

"You dare to steal Aiz from me, huh!" She said in a low voice, sending chills to Bell.

"Hiiii!!!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" (Bell)

He was literally terrified at Loki's angry face as he closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

Few second had passed, and he was still alive, with his body still intact.

"...Sigh...since Aiz accepted you...I guess...I had to give up, aren't I? If you were not one of my familia, I'll stick yer head on the wall already...sigh.." (Loki)

Slowly, Loki went towards Bell's back, bend down, and proceeded to hug him, while her left hand wrapped his body, the other ruffling through his soft white hair.

With a soft voice, Loki whispered, "...take care of her, will ya?..."

Hearing her words, Bell knew that she had mistaken about something.

Gathering his voice, "G-Goddess... It seems like you're mistaken about something...actually, Aiz and I had...an accidental kiss..."

She stopped her ruffling, but then continued to ruffle his hair.

"G-Goddess?" (Bell)

ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle*

"Accident, huh?...Then, yer punishment for being accidental is to come whenever I need ya!"

"...but it was an accident..."

"So you want to stay on the wall, then?"

"...O-Okay, I'll follow your wishes, Goddess!"

"Hm! Good boy!"

ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle*

"Goddess? I need to go now to the Dungeon." He said, as his cheeks were getting redder.

"Ya know? Rather than an adventurer, why don't you be my hugging pillow!"

"..." (Bell)

Even though she lacked the 'asset', a goddess was still a goddess, and Bell was conscious of this.

He could smell the perfume she was wearing, the feeling of her hot breath hitting his bare neck as he was blushing profusely.

Immediately, Loki released her gripped, stood up, and walked away towards her wardrobe.

With her back facing Bell, "Well, ain't you going. I'm gonna change here."

"I-I'll be going now, Goddess!" Bell said.

As he was just planning to ran out of the room, Loki told him to stop, while her sight was on him.

"You'll need to change yer outfit...it's too unique... guess you'll need to buy new clothes today."

Bell looked at his 'Kikyou Saionji's outfit', which had the colour of green, white, and a red lining.

"Oh.." was what came out of Bell's mouth.

Then, he slowly walked out of the room, and proceeded to his room to grab his equipment.

Loki stood in front of her wardrobe for awhile, contemplating about the weird feeling she got.

In Bell's room...

Bell could be seen holding Herana and Reazus.

Slowly, he moved the two ether swords up, as both crossed each other.

Bell closed his eyes, as he thought about an outfit that he saw on one of the adventurer that he had seen before.

"Change."

He whipped his two ether swords, one on his left, and one on his right, as a burst of red fiery flame engulfed his entire figure.

Instantly, the flame disappeared, revealing himself in a normal light brown shirt, and a black trousers.

He looked at his outfit, and deemed it alright.

\--New Scene--

Reaching the end of the 19th floor, Loki exploration team with Finn as the leader had decided to rest for awhile.

At one place, Aiz was sitting with Tione, Tiona and Lefiya, as they formed a group of their own.

A few Loki members were on guard as they were inside the Dungeon, which was known for its unpredictability.

Tione was looking at Finn, trying to think for a way to get his attention, while Lefiya was looking into her bag, trying to sort out and check her items.

Tiona was looking at Aiz with a curious expression on her face, as she approached her.

"Aiz?" (Tiona)

Aiz moved her head towards Tiona, "Hm?..."

"Is something wrong with your lips? I noticed that you've been touching your lips ever since we left the Twilight Manor..."

Hearing that, Lefiya joined in the conversation, "M-Miss Aiz? Are your lips dry? I have something to cure that." Lefiya took out something that look like a lip gloss. "Here!"

Aiz took the lip gloss on her hand, and looked at Lefiya.

Lefiya showed a "how to use the lip gloss" motion at Aiz, which Aiz followed her motion too.

"Kyaaa!!! Aiz lips so shiny! Even though you have a deadpan face, she's still look beautiful!!" Tiona said, as she jumped at Aiz and hugged her.

"We've rested enough. Let's go." Finn said at the group.

Tiona, Tione and Lefiya moved ahead, while Aiz was behind the group.

Aiz was deep in thought, feeling slightly worried, "(...Why did Loki called him in her room...is he okay...)"

Casting the thought aside, Aiz moved forward towards her teammates.

\--New Scene--

Bell was strolling on the road, looking at the new things that he had never seen before.

Sellers shouting their merchandise like there was no tomorrow.

Some childrens were running on the street, playing with each other.

Looking at the street, he could see why Orario was called as the city of adventurers.

Adventurers thrived like an army of ants, filling up the streets, seeking for fame and glory.

Looking at his left, he could see a flower shop, which was handled by a female worker, as she sweep the floor, trying to keep the image of the shop in pristine condition.

He was pretty excited as this will be his first time living in the city of Orario, and also to have a chance to explore the Dungeon, which he knew was located beneath the Babel Tower.

As he walked around, he saw a small girl that seemed to be lost, so he decided to help the little girl.

It was pretty dangerous to be alone in this city, as he had a first hand experience yesterday, even though he was out in the open.

Approaching the little girl, he was quite surprised to see how well developed she was, contrasting to her small appearance.

He spoke with a soft voice, "Hey, little girl...are you lost?"

"I'm not a little girl! I'm a goddess!" The little girl said, pouting in a cute manner.

"Eh! I'm sorry! I thought since you're small that...um so Miss Goddess..." (Bell)

"Hestia. That's my name!" (Hestia)

"I'm Bell Cranell...so, Miss Hestia? What are you doing here?" He asked, curious as to why she was here alone.

"...I'm trying to form a familia...but no one wants to join me...since I'm poor and whatnot..." (Hestia)

Then, Hestia looked at the boy with a hopeful expression, "Perhaps...are you searching for a familia!?"

"Ah, Sorry..." (Bell)

Hestia hung her shoulders, feeling dejected.

"Maybe, I can help Miss Hestia to search for someone to join!"

"Really...You'll help me..." Tears started to formed in Hestia's eyes.

Few minutes later...

"Hestia familia is recruiting members, so who wants to join!" (Bell)

"I'm recruiting members to join my familia!" (Hestia)

The two walked on the street, while advertising Hestia familia, hoping to gain a member.

Time passed by, as both were starting to feel tired, so Hestia decided to halt today's advertisement.

Hestia was sad that no one tried to join her familia, but she kept her emotion hidden, as she didn't want to make Bell worried about her.

"Fuh!...that was tiring!"

"Miss Hestia..."

"It's okay, Bell...I can try again tomorrow." Hestia said, trying to hide her sadness.

Bell looked at Hestia that slowly walked away from the area.

As Hestia walked away, she felt a hand that grabbed her shoulder, prompting her to look at the source.

"Bell..." (Hestia)

Then, Bell took out Herana, "Miss Hestia? Can you touch Herana's blade?"

"Herana?" Hestia said, curious.

"It's this sword's name...it's my family heirloom." (Bell)

"So, I just need to touch it? Why?" Hestia asked, slightly wary.

"So that I can find you." (Bell)

"(How does he find me by touching it? Hm? I guess just touching will not hurt me...)"

Slowly, Hestia touched the side of Herana, where it was just a flat surface, so she will not injured herself

She could see the blade radiated a dark red glow, before dimming back into its original dark black colour.

Hestia looked at Bell, which told her that it was done, so she walked away, leaving Bell behind.

Bell looked at Hestia receding figure, as he could see a red aura surrounding her.

"Friend." Bell muttered, as he could see the aura changed into a green glow around Hestia.

Soon, Hestia had already left his sight, but somehow, he knew where she was at, as if his mind had a radar that could pinpoint her position.

With that, he made his way towards the Babel Tower.

But, on his way there, Loki stood at the Dungeon entrance, seemingly waiting for someone.

He saw that Loki was waving at him, and he knew right away, that she was looking for him.

"Where were you!" Loki said in an annoyed voice. "Ya know how long I stood here waiting for yer!?"

"I'm sorry! I was helping someone just now..." (Bell)

"Hm! Well, let's go! We need to register ya at the Guild. My fault for forgetting." (Loki)

"Okay..." (Bell)

\--New Scene--

"Please filled up this form, sir."

Bell took his time filling up his registration form, as Loki was trying to gather the latest scoop from the Guild.

Few minutes later...

"All done!"

Bell handed the form to the female employee, as she went to the back of the counter, and into a room.

Awhile later, she came back, "With this, you are registered into the Guild."

With his business finished, he went to Loki, "I've registered already."

"Okay, see ya later!" Loki said, as she walked out of the Guild.

\--New Scene--

At the first floor of the Dungeon, Bell had met with five goblins without a weapon.

With a quick lunged, he passed by the five goblins, slashes appeared on their bodies as they started to fall down, as they all had stopped moving.

He looked at the corpses, "(I recall about magic stone situated in their chest...)"

With his experience living in the wild, he swiftly collected the magic stones, as the corpses started to disappear into thin air.

"(Okay! Let's do this!)"

Searched for enemies, killed them, and collect the magic stones.

Bell eliminated the monsters in his path, as he made his way towards the second floor.

And then, he continued to the third, the fourth, the fifth, and stopped at the sixth floor, as he realized that he didn't have enough storage to put more magic stones.

"(Well...I don't need anymore magic stones...guess I'll just eliminate the monsters here. Maybe, I should try that skill...I wonder what kind of skill 'Kiranage Asundra' is...)"

He took a deep breath with his eyes closed, "Kiranage Asundra."

Red aura engulfed him from the bottom to the top, as his clothes turned to flame and changed, showing him in his 'Kikyou Saionji's outfit'.

His blade glowed dark red, as the red aura covered around it.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing his ruby coloured eyes which was glowing bright red.

He felt really calmed as his eyes looked at his surrounding.

Instantly, he disappeared from his position.

\--New Scene--

A party of three people were in the sixth floor, confronting with a group of twelve war shadows.

"It's a war shadow!!" (Male)

"Watch out!" A female screamed at female1.

Female1 closed her eyes, as she held her arms, preparing for the worst, as two war shadows lunged at her.

It was then...

Multiple sound of bodies collapsing on the ground could be heard, prompting female1 to open her eyes, just to see all the war shadows lying dead on the ground.

Back to Bell, he was purging the monsters at the current floor as he just casually slash the monsters.

A war shadow looked at the fiery red demon, that was moving really fast.

One second, he was at the right, the next second, he was in the air.

The war shadow prepared itself as it lunged towards the red demon, just to see its body in front of it.

Five minutes after the skill was initited, he changed back to his regular light brown shirt, and black trousers.

He looked back to see lots of corpses on the ground.

"(I think that's enough training. I better go back...)"

On that day, a rumour about many corpses, which were untouched had benefited some adventurers as they obtained free magic stones.

\--New Scene--

It was already nighttime in Orario, as the streetlights were lighting the way for people to navigate in the night.

In the Twilight Manor, sitting at the end of the long table was Loki, while next to her right was Bell.

Bell looked at the many empty seats, and then back to Loki.

"Um...Where are the others?"

"They're in an expedition to the Dungeon. Why?"

"...are we the only one here?..." Bell started to feel nervous, as well as frightened at the same time.

Loki had an evil expression on her face, "What's wrong...Bell...why so quiet..." She said in an alluring voice.

"T-T-Thank you for the food!!" Bell said, as he was already running towards his room.

\--New Scene--

At the 23rd floor, the Loki expedition team had already set their camp for the night, some were on patrol as they had their own shift to follow.

At one camp, five girls could be seen surrounding a campfire.

"Are you alright, Aiz? You seem out of it. Are you sick?" (Reveria)

"...I'm worried about Bell..." Aiz said, her eyes looked at the fire.

Reveria looked at Aiz, "Worried? Why? Isn't he safe at our home?"

"...Loki..." Aiz said, looking back at Reveria with her deadpan face.

Wanting to join the conversation, Tiona speak her thought, "Yeah, Aiz. Loki wouldn't do anything to him!"

Reveria then had a serious expression, "On second thought...I'm not sure..."

"Okay! Let me list what will trigger Loki into becoming a perverted old man! Bell is cute, check. Bell is shy, check. Bell is young, check..."

"He cleared all the requirements..." Lefiya said slowly.

All five girls were silent, as each had their own imagination of what was happening at home right now.

Aiz imagined an Al-miraj, being bitten by a fox.

Tiona imagined Bell running around the Twilight Manor, as Loki was chasing him while laughing hysterically.

Lefiya imagined Bell on the bed with Loki, his chin was being guided by Loki's hand as Bell looked at Loki with a loving eyes.

His right shoulder was slowly being shown as his shirt started to come off.

Then, an image of a flower with one of its petal falling down replaced the scene.

On the other hand, Reveria imagined Bell being tied to the bed, Loki had a whip on her hand.

And finally, Tione imagined something that was adult only thing, as there were only mosaics being shown.

"..." (the five girls)

"L-Let's go to sleep!" Lefiya said, as she rushed towards her camp.

And soon, the four girls went to their own camp to sleep, as tomorrow was another tiring day for them.

00000000

Finally, updated...I'm focusing on my other story 'to live a different life' (advertising muahahaha) so...this story might had a less frequent update. Thus, the partially accept the challenge. BTW whe are there two danmachi category?


	3. chapter 3

Morning had come, as the sun was radiating its warmth upon the citizens of Orario.

The weather was nice, birds were flying, since they had wings, not that it mattered.

A few were walking on the street, probably on their way to the Dungeon with their hopes and promises of good fortune.

Then, there was a male sitting in the bar, chatting with a group of people, talking about something, which didn't have any definitive proved of its authenticity, but nevertheless, it was a good source of information.

With the start of the day, shops and stalls were starting to show up, as like any other days, adventurers were abundant for sellers to attract.

Such was the competition in businesses industries.

At some place in Orario, a large manor could be seen, striking fear as well as amazement at others, for it was known to be the living place of the two top familia in Orario.

But right now, the place seemed so unnaturally quiet, which passerby found it as a normal occurence.

Looking inside, no one could be seen in the dining room, the open field, and other places in the Twilight Manor, as if the place had been abandoned by the people, which was not.

Inside a room, there was at least a figure still sleeping in his bed, feeling really comfortable in his bed, as he had a blissful smile on his face.

The clock on his room showed it was already 9.23 a.m. in the morning.

Bell slowly opened his eyes, his senses were starting to wake up, as he noticed a very nice smell, which he didn't recognize.

His head moved a little bit, causing an "mmm..." to come out of her mouth, as his head was positioned at Loki's nape, so his hair had brushed her nape.

\--last night flashback start--

He was asleep that night, when Loki had decided to sneak inside the room, as she thought of teasing him when he woke up.

Since Loki was the head of the familia, of course she had the master key to all of the rooms in Twilight Manor.

Hence, the older members of the familia had additional protection at their doors, which Bell hadn't been told or knew about.

Loki slowly made her way towards Bell's bed, her eyes looking at the sleeping figure, as she slipped inside his blanket.

\--last night flashback end--

Well, she did plan to tease him in the morning, but from the looks of it, that seemed to be an empty thought, as Loki was still asleep, quiet blissfully actually.

With her fingers intertwined, wrapping around Bell's head, tight in her embrace.

He was feeling a bit embarrassed, but that only lasted for a second, as he felt that it was not bad, being embraced, while feeling the warmth of others.

Things that he once had in the past...

He tried to pry himself away, but he was unable to do that, not because he couldn't, but because he didn't want to disturb her peaceful sleep.

But, with no option to go with, he decided to wake her up.

"Goddess, wake up. It's morning already." (Bell)

"...no..." She pouted.

"But it's morning." (Bell)

"No..." Loki said as she tightened her hold.

Bell sighed.

At 11.47 a.m. in the morning, Bell was utterly confused at how Loki seemed to be in a very deep sleep, not knowing that he was the reason for her deep sleep.

With that he decided that it was time to be more aggressive.

He moved his body, so that his body was on top Loki, his left hand tried to separate Loki's intertwined hands on his neck, while his right tried to support his body, as he tried to avoid crushing Loki beneath him.

It was a fail.

He looked at the sleeping beauty beneath him, her body rose and fell, as she breathed in a rhythmic motion, captivating him.

"(Her lips looks so soft...)" He thought, as his eyes trailed along her soft lips, which seemed to be inviting him.

And that was when he realized, this situation was really bad.

His heartbeat was increasing rapidly, as his breathing started to become faster, inhaling the sweet scent lingering nearby.

Since Bell didn't know that most of the Loki familia had always beaten Loki, since she was a bit perverted, and his view of her as a goddess, he was afraid to use some force to pry his body away from Loki.

Slowly, he saw that Loki was starting to wake up, as one by one, her eyes were slowly taking in the view in front of her.

And he knew that the moment she was awake, her teasing would follow later.

"Oh...didn't think yer a bold one." (Loki)

"U-Um!" (Bell)

Loki had separated her hands, the left still grabbing his neck, while her right hand moved towards his chest.

Not that he felt it was a dangerous move, but it was definitely dangerous for his mind.

Her eyes were looking into his own, and for some reason, he felt that he was being preyed on by a predator.

Immediately, he jumped out of the bed, "I-I'll be showering!" He shouted, leaving Loki on his bed.

He grabbed a towel, and went into the bathroom in a haste.

With a *click, the door was locked.

With a door separating them, he could relaxed himself for a bit, as this kind of situation was hard to get used to.

After a few minutes waiting, the bathtub was filled, as Bell submerged his body into the warm water.

Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the luxury given, unlike when he was in the wild.

click*

His head snapped instantly towards the source of the sound, as he saw the door to the bathroom slowly opened.

It was evident he didn't think about how did Loki managed to enter his bedroom, and now he knew.

\--New Scene--

Bell was now at the Guild, after the eventful shower, where he ran away with a towel only on his body inside the mansion, and he was really glad that the mansion was large, so in no time, he managed to put on his clothes.

Crowded like always, the Guild was quiet full at the moment, as the clock had showed it was 1.27 p.m. in the afternoon.

People were crowding the counters of the Guild, so he decided to go and see what Hestia was doing, since he 'knew' where she was currently.

Walking on the street of Orario was truly a unique experience for him, as at here, he didn't need to be very cautious, no wild animals, just people and other species.

Speaking of other species, they were varieties of them walking in broad daylight, probably on their way to the Dungeon.

At that moment, his map inside his mind showed him that there were five red dots approaching him from behind, and decisively, he decided to blend into the crowd, and walked into an alley to lose them.

From his 'map', he could see that the five red dots were getting further from him, as they were northeast from his position, and soon disappeared from his 'map' as it could only detected any living things that had touched 'Herana' in a 100 medre radius.

Taking out 'Herana', he stab the blade onto the ground, as an invisible force spread out in a circular direction outwards, allowing him to view his 'map' in a larger scale, with the disadvantage that he couldn't remove 'Herana' off the ground, or else his map would revert back to original.

\--New Scene--

Hestia was working at a small stall that sold fried potatoes to the people.

Currently, two customers were approaching.

"Two fried potatoes please."

"Wait for a second." (Hestia)

Soon, she gave the customers their fried potatoes, gaining 20 valis for now, as the customers left the stall, while Hestia waited for another customers to come.

Working at this stall, she had an agreement with the owner that she would receive twenty percent of the total sale each day.

Currently, she had 340 valis from today's sale, which was pretty decent.

Looking around, she saw a familiar figure approaching her.

"Bell? What're you doing here?" She looked again, and for sure, Bell was alone.

"Just visiting, and to make sure you're alright." He said, as he rubbed his neck, showing his innocent smile.

Suddenly, his stomach showed its intent, as it resounded at the place, telling him that he didn't have any breakfast before coming here.

Seeing that, Hestia couldn't help but felt pity, so she decided to give him a fried potato, which she would minus from her earning.

Bell was reluctant at first, but hearing her speaking in a sad tone, he just couldn't reject.

And who could anyway?

Bell accepted her offer, as she gave him a radiant smile, which he thought was worth it.

Seeing that she was alright, he made his way towards the Dungeon, since he thought that the Guild might still be crowded, and he planned to visit it at night.

\--New Scene--

At the 6th floor, Bell was slashing onto an incoming wall shadow, quite successfully, as the goblin toppled down on the ground, and with a thump.

His eyes seek for any incoming wall shadow, but found that they were none.

Needless to say, the hunt comprised of him slashing the monsters, meeting a few adventurers on his way, and collecting magic stones.

It was a pretty relaxing hunt, not like when he was before in the wild.

He knew that a 'blessing' would boost his stats, but not to the extend that he would felt that the danger was nonexistent.

The urged to move further down the Dungeon was there, but for the sake of safety, he decided to stay on this floor.

Looking around, he noted that there was a hidden path, which he might had missed, if he didn't look thoroughly.

Slowly, he made his way into the hidden room, his senses flaring to its peak, as he eyed the room.

Nothing seemed out of place, as he could see the normal Dungeon wall, and the bunch of crystal sticking up on the ceiling, illuminating the room in a blue hue.

crack* *crack* *crack* *crack*

He looked at the pathway behind him, and saw many wall shadows blocking it.

\--New Scene--

At the 27th floor, Aiz was literally on a massacre, as she cut her way through, leaving behind a trail of corpses, confusing her expedition team.

Bete looked at the four girls that were with her last night, "What's wrong with her? I've never seen her so eager to obliterate the monsters."

With the monsters in their path gone, Aiz returned back to her party, while the four girls eyed her.

They knew she was worried about the boy, and with a good reason on hand.

"Aiz, just relax. He'll be alright." Reveria said to calm her down.

Aiz looked at Reveria, her gaze was literally focused on her, and she faltered.

"..maybe.." (Reveria)

\--New Scene--

"Almost died..." (Bell)

He looked at his torn clothes, and on the pile of corpses in the room.

As he took out the magic stone out of the corpses one by one, he regretted that he couldn't get more profit, as he realized that he was carrying his previous magic stones.

Regretfully, he tried to leave the corpses as it was, undisturbed on the ground.

"Um, you should destroy the magical stones if you don't want to take it." (Female1)

Startled by the voice, he turned around, seeing that there were four adventurers, a balanced ratio of male and female.

Noting to himself that they meant no harm, he relaxed his posture, but still had a little bit of wariness in him.

One of the male looked at the room and whistled, as he could see lots of corpses on the ground.

"You're pretty good at soloing the Dungeon. Gotta give you some respect." (Male1)

"Back to my point. Do you know why I told you to destroy the magic stone?" (Female1)

Bell looked at her, "I don't know..."

Female1 took a magic stone, "Other monsters could consume this magic stone, which will lead to a mutation or a power up to the eater."

From what she had said, he understood that what he had done was basically giving free power up for the monsters in the Dungeon, and thinking about it, he felt that he was endangering the others.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know about this." (Bell)

"Don't worry. I guess, you're new to the Dungeon, right? So, which familia you're from?" (Female1)

"I'm from Loki familia. The name's Bell Cranell. I've just arri-" (Bell)

Immediately, the four people straightened themselves, as the Female1's face changed.

It was weird for Bell to see them looking at him, as if he was something to be feared for.

Bell might not know about Loki and her famous familia, since none had explained it to him.

To him, Loki familia was just a normal familia, not knowing that it was one of the two most powerful familia in Orario, which Female1 had told him.

Female1 looked at him, and then shifted towards the corpses, "If you don't need this, can we take it?"

"You can take it!" He said, as he was relieved that he wouldn't need to destroy every magic stones on the ground.

With that, Bell parted ways with the group, and proceeded towards the surface.

But something was bothering him, as he walked along the Dungeon.

"(Monsters will power up if they eat the stone...hmm...)"

Then, an idea had came up, an idea that seemed stupid, but might be good for him.

Maybe it was the lack of challenged, albeit just previously he was being cornered, but he wanted to fight a one on one type of battle.

Called it his selfish wish, but he really wanted to do it.

He was currently at the 1st floor, and a goblin was in his sight, no adventurers in sight.

He took out a magic stone, and rapidly made his way towards the unaware goblin.

Just like a kidnapper, he inserted the magic stone forcefully into the goblin's mouth, and stepped away just as he was sure that the goblin had swallowed the magic stone.

Suddenly, the goblin was staggering, as its body started to change slowly, its hands had turned into a blade, as its body changed colour to black, just like a shadow.

Suddenly, the 'hybrid' lunged at him, as its two blade like hands tried to slash him.

Two distinct sound of blade clashing could be heard, as Bell had parried the hybrid's attack.

Bell was stunned that the force of the slash had a weight in it, as he was forced back slightly.

The hybrid thrust its right blade towards Bell's face, which Bell deflected with his left blade, and followed by his right blade cutting the hybrid's right hand, and its head.

thud*

The hybrid slumped beneath his feet, as it lost its life.

He looked at the corpse, "A black goblin with claws?"

The hybrid had a body like a goblin, which explained how its slashes had weight in them, coupled with its sharp blade like hands, it was a dangerous monster for new adventurers.

He took out the magic stone out of the corpse, and went towards the surface.

\--New Scene--

"24000 valis sir."

Bell took the valis, thanked the receptionist, and walked away with a jingling sound everytime he moved.

This however had attracted the eyes of someone sinister, someone that needed some money, and were not shy to try and killed someone for it.

Bell looked at the valis hungry group with wary eyes, so he decided to talk with someone of the Guild that was unoccupied.

"Um, hello?" (Bell)

"Oh? Is there something that you need?" (Eina)

The female half elf, Eina Tullen looked at Bell, while she gave him a smile.

For awhile, Bell was stunned to see such a beautiful girl in front of him, but then snapped out of it as he wanted to know about something.

"I wanted to ask, if someone try to rob me, what should I do?" (Bell)

Eina was confused by his question, but not until he hinted to a group discreetly.

"Mm...you have the right to attack any aggressor that can endanger you. Unfortunately, we are unable to do anything regarding the people that are behaving badly. As an adventurer-"

A conversation which took 30 minutes had ensued, as Eina told him the basic, and about how to navigate into the Dungeon.

He didn't know where she got the energy to talk constantly, without tiring herself.

With that, he excused himself, and walked out of the Guild.

At least he had a rough idea on how to deal with his pursuers...a bit.

\--New Scene--

Seven people could be seen, as they tried to follow a boy on the street, of course not in a group, but more of a dispersed kind of tactic.

That would have been stupid of them.

It was apparent that their intention was far from pure, as they prepared their weapons, swords and daggers.

Bell knew they were following him, but he was still thinking, should he killed them or not?

If it was in the wild, yes, he would kill since they were bandits, but here, they were adventurers, and where would he put their bodies?

In the wild, he could just let the bodies be a feast for the wild animals, or let them rot.

Such was the life in the wild, a little hesitation could lead him to his demise.

And here, he felt shackled with the rules, and there were also the reputation of his familia, which he had just known.

And so, he decided to run into a bar, which he saw were full of people.

Bursting into the bar, the people inside gave him a curious look, and then continued their own thing, as they didn't find anything interesting about him.

Belt was petrified at the entrance, seeing a female with a big body, muscles were bulging from her body.

Sweat started to form on his forehead, as he was thinking that maybe, going into this bar was a bad idea.

A catgirl approached Bell, "What do you want to order nya?"

"Um..." (Bell)

"Nya?" (Catgirl)

"She's not going to kill me, is she?" Bell discreetly pointed at Mama Mia.

"If nya run away without paying, guess Mama Mia will nya. So any pick nya?" (Catgirl)

"Plain water and fried rice please." (Bell)

The cat girl went into the kitchen with his order, while Mama Mia just stood behind the counter.

His eyes wandered at Mama Mia's bicep, and then he eyed his bicep, not that he was jealous or anything.

Soon, his food came up, and he ate it in delight, and it was just for 210 valis.

He tried to peek outside to look for the pursuers, and took a breathe of relief, as they were now gone.

He went out, and turned around to look at the bar.

It was a pretty nice bar, and he wanted to use Herana to mark one of the employees...or Mama Mia, but he was afraid of what people would say.

People would mistaken him pointing his blade against someone, so, the best that he could do was committing this place into his mind.

\--New Scene--

"..." (Bell)

He stood in front of the Twilight Manor, hesitating to enter the mansion.

Not that there was any danger, it was just that Loki was a teaser, and he didn't know how long before he would be out of control.

He was a male, and she was a female goddess, and they were alone in a manor, pretty much a recipe for 'something'.

He opened the large door slowly, and immediately being hugged by the worried Loki.

"Bell, where you at!?" (Loki)

"Um...just got back from a bar while trying to run away from robbers..." (Bell)

"Oh? Must be hard for ya to not be able to kill them, right?" (Loki)

"Eh?" (Bell)

"What? Am I wrong? I mean, ya are more skillful than others, thanks to ya lifestyle." (Loki)

She released Bell from her hug.

"Come on. I've prepared the bath for ya!"

\--New Scene--

It was surreal, as he was currently in a large pool with warm water, supposedly a bathhouse.

"(This is the manor of the two most powerful familia...so I guess this is normal?...but I like this...relaxing-)"

click*

He anticipated that Loki would come in, and he was prepared...maybe.

"(She's just teasing me.)" Bell told himself.

Although his cheeks were already red, he strengthened his willpower.

"(I've come with a mission! To build a hare-no! Become an adventurer!)"

He turned his head behind, and saw many Loki.

"GYAAHH!!!"

Reality sets in, as he looked around that he was still in the bathhouse.

"(I-I doze off...phew...)"

click*

The dream before had made him a little bit wary, as he prepared himself, the sound of someone nearing him increase his heartbeat.

Suddenly, he felt a cool sensation as a wet towel was placed at his back.

"Relax a bit, I ain't gonna bite ya."

Somehow, Bell was not sure about that, so he only kept his mouth shut.

"Anything interesting happening?" Loki asked, as she faithfully give him a back cleaning, which was quite good.

He told Loki about the monster power up, robbers, and until at the bar part.

"Oh? It's definitely the Benevolent Mistress! My favourite bar! Ya must have been attracted by the chicks there, right?! Hehehe, since all the employees are female..."

"No-no-no-no! I was running away from the-"

His speech stopped, as Loki hands were at his chest, so technically, she was leaning on his back, her head rest at his left shoulder.

With a sultry voice, she whispered into his left ear, "You're interested...aren't ya..."

"(I wouldn't be a man if I'm not interested!!)" Bell said in his mind, afraid to say it straight to Loki.

"...a bit..." (Bell)

Immediately, she backed away, and slapped his back gently, "There! It's not that hard to say! Sheesh!"

The sensation of the towel was gone, as Loki stood up.

Slowly, Loki walked out of the bathhouse, leaving the embarrassed Bell alone.

\--New Scene--

He was now in his room, cleaning his blade to maintain its sharpness, but he knew that his two blade were not like any normal blade.

Even if it was being coated with blood and dirt, the blade would never dulled or loose its sharpness.

Satisfied, he put the two swords away, leaning both on a wall, as he prepared his own bed to get some rest.

"Bell?" (Loki)

He turned towards the door to see Loki in her pajama, her eyes looking at him as hesitation could be seen on her face.

"Sleep with me..." She said.

Not waiting for his reply, she walked away, leaving the stunned Bell.

He didn't know for what reason she told him, and he felt that he should followed her words, as he felt if he didn't, something bad would happen to him.

In Loki's room, Bell just stood there, not knowing what he should do or what was Loki's intention.

His eyes wondered all around the room, until he saw Loki laying on the bed.

She looked at Bell, "Well? What cha doin? Aren't cha gonna sleep?"

"So where-" (Bell)

And Loki patted beside her.

"(I-I guess it will do me no harm...)"

Step by step, he walked towards the bed, closing in the side of the bed, eyes on Loki.

Loki patted the bed beside her, motioning him to get in.

Slowly, he went into the bed, and immediately, Loki grabbed onto him, embracing him.

"G-Goddess!!"

ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle*

Like always, Loki ruffled Bell's hair, which he still hadn't get used to, as he was still blushing, but not that much.

It made Bell questioned Loki's intention, sneaking into his room, sneaking into his bathing time, and in actual fact, it seemed like she tried to do her best to be with him.

And then, it dawned to him...just like a puzzle being connected, the empty manor and Loki.

"(...she's lonely...)"

It was inevitable, since her familia were always out to dive into the Dungeon, leaving her at the Twilight Manor.

In the past, she did have some company, as she had only just started to expand her familia, where she had a few level one adventurers.

As time passed by, her familia became more and more powerful, as all of her members were now striving to keep up their familia's reputation, hence, going into the Dungeon regularly.

A daily meeting with her children became a once a week or more kind of meeting, as the feeling of loneliness started to build up.

Time had passed, and Loki had already fallen asleep, while Bell was still awake in Loki's embrace.

He still couldn't adjust himself to this kind of thing, but one thing for sure, it was comforting.

He snuggled his head closer, just below Loki's chin, the warmth permeated from Loki, and into him.

And slowly, he succumbed to sleep.

000000000

noooooo! T.T my chapter 4 is gone... why smartphone!? why did you hang!!! just as I final-sighed...

\--Bell.Cranell--

Valis: 23790

Equipment: Herana, Reazeus, small pouch

\--Bell.Cranell--


	4. chapter 4

One week four days had passed as the Loki expedition team had came back from the Dungeon.

Seeing the surface, the team took a deep breath of relief as they were now out of danger.

The citizens nearby could see the team embarked on their journey back to the mansion.

Their expressions were indicating that something bad had happened during their expedition.

And it did.

Nobody spoke a word with each other as they carried this eerie atmosphere, which the civilians would know the meaning of it.

Some of the civilians that had seen them before had noticed that their numbers were slightly less than before.

Added with their battered state, one would know what kind of obstacles they had faced.

The civilian dare not to cause the team any more grieving as they let them went through the streets with minimal resistance.

Adventurers... a job that had the highest rate of death compared to any other jobs.

The danger of the Dungeon... jealousy from others... fortune... there were many things that made the job dangerous, but the Loki expedition team knew and accepted this.

And the civilian knew this.

\--New Scene--

The Twilight Manor stood in front of them.

Slowly, the door to the Twilight Manor opened slowly as the team entered the manor in an unmotivated manner.

Loki could see the sad expressions on every faces of her familia, confirming the feeling of dread that she had felt the past few days.

Finn approached Loki by himself as the others went to their respective rooms.

Finn noticed that Bell was with them, but he didn't mind.

Sooner or later, he would encounter this kind of dreadful situation, whether he like it or not.

Bell saw Aiz went towards one of the hallway, and saw the sadness in her eyes as she slowly moved away from his sight.

Silence filled the atmosphere as none initiated any conversation with each other.

Bell looked at Finn, and then at Loki, remembering what had happened during the last few days.

\--flashback start--

It was at night, and like usual, Bell was sleeping in Loki's room, which had became a sort of habit for him.

Both were sleeping peacefully as the moon shone through the windows of the room.

Suddenly...

"NOOO!!" Loki screamed as she felt multiple blessings were being servered.

And she knew what it meant, and it was not the first time it had happened.

She sat up, while her hands tried to stiffled the crying noise that she was making.

Bell woke up and saw that Loki was crying, tears threatened her cheeks as it didn't seemed like it would stop flowing.

Loki had just noticed that Bell was beside her, and tried to hide her sadness.

No one had ever saw her crying before, and she would like it to remain that way... but somehow, she couldn't hold her sadness.

She tried to face away from Bell, trying to gain her composure.

Bell looked at Loki's back as he heard Loki tried to muffle her voice using a pillow.

This was the first time he had saw Loki cried.

It was never a pleasant thing to see someone cried as he felt a twinge in his heart.

Bell held her close to his chest as she cried, and cried some more, trying to vent out all the sadness in her.

If someone were to see Loki, they might said that this was not her.

She was a fierce god that had killed many other gods without mercy, but that didn't mean she couldn't shed a tear of sadness.

\--flashback end--

Finn took a deep breath, readying himself.

"We've failed to reach the 59th floor of the Dungeon, due to encountering a new type of monster."

Finn took out something, and put it on the table for Bell and Loki to see.

It was a crystal that seemed to be contaminated with something.

Then, a piece of paper were put on the table, and Bell could see that it was a list of names.

"We had lost thirty-nine members during the attack of the new type..."

Bell excused himself as he didn't think that he was needed in the conversation.

\--New Scene--

The day had turned night as Bell had just reached the surface, after a committed hunt from the morning till now, going from the 1st floor to the 7th floor and vice versa.

The stars filled up the sky as he tried to go to the Guild.

He wanted to try a different path to the Guild, and chose an alleyway, which screamed danger.

As he walked through the alleyway, a small robe figure had ran into him.

Immediately, two blades were being pointed at the figure as Bell had noticed his missing pouch filled with valis.

The figure was skillful, but Bell's senses were more sharper, allowing him to detect the swift motion it had made, when it ran into him.

It was dark, but that didn't mean that Bell was unable to take action, if the situation ever needed it.

The moon shone upon the alley, allowing whatever available light for him to see the feature of the person in front of him.

He sheathed his left blade, and extended his hand out, hoping for the figure to give him back his pouch.

The figure looked at his hand, and slowly handed him his pouch.

Bell sheathed his other blade as he tried to open the hood of the figure, curiosity got the better of him.

What he saw was a girl, eyes wide in surprised as she didn't expect him to open her hood.

Bell looked at the small girl, feeling sad about the life of the small girl.

It also made him remembered about his life, and somewhat feeling how closely similar his previous life was with this girl's situation.

Alone in the wild... sometimes animals were none to be seen, fishes would not take a bite, leaving Bell with a hungry stomach.

Being young with no particular skills living in the wild... it was how his first time living in the wild was like.

A day turned to days as his hunger reached to a point that he felt weak.

He remembered that he had stolen food from bandits, which led to something terrible to happen towards him.

He looked at the small girl, and then took out a few valis from his pouch as he took the girl's right hand, and put the valis in her hand.

"For you." Bell said as his hand made its way towards the girl's hair, stroking it slowly.

She looked at Bell, eyes wide opened, surprised by Bell's action.

She could see the gaze full of sympathy and warmth that were looking at her.

She was longing for the warmth.

Her expression turned to sadness when Bell took his hand away, and turned away as he was going further from her... leaving her alone...

She looked at Bell that was going to go, and had this feeling of loneliness.

Today was the first... the first time someone showed her kindness, and it made her teared up as all the painful memories came up.

All the pent up emotion were starting to come out.

Being abused, bullied, and abandoned... and now, this person was showing her kindness...

Would she see him again?

Or would this be the last time?

She was mature, but that didn't stop her from spilling her tears at the thought of not seeing someone as kind as Bell.

Bell could hear the sound of someone running on the hard concrete, followed by a sudden weight at his back.

Bell could feel someone was hugging him, which halted him from moving, and he could hear the faint sniffles that came from the girl.

"No... *hic* *hic* don't leave me..."

Hearing the desperation and sadness in the voice.

Bell sighed as he turned around to hugged the girl in an effort to calm her down.

"(The Guild can wait...)" Bell thought to himself.

Few minutes later...

The girl had calmed down as she sat on the cold concrete floor in the alley, while looking at the moon in the sky.

She looked at the boy next to her right that was also looking at the night sky.

A smile crept onto her face as she gaze at Bell, which he didn't notice.

"Thanks..."

"Hm?"

"For staying with me..."

The two were silent as they watched a shooting star that had passed by.

"The name's Lililluka Arde." Lili said as she turned her head towards Bell.

"Bell, Bell Cranell." He said.

Lili looked at the boy, "Why did you gave Lili valis?... aren't you mad that Lili tried to stole Mr. Bell valis?..."

She observed the boy's expression, anticipating that anger would show up in his face, but she saw none, which was quite uncommon.

"No..." He said. "I guess I can relate to your situation. Living in a rough situation..."

"So where's your home? I can send you home. Your parents must be worried of you." Bell asked.

"Lili's parents... are not around anymore..."

"Ah... sorry... how about your relative?"

"Lili don't have a relative..."

Bell looked at the girl's attire, and it seemed well prepared for a fight, dagger at her waist.

"Then, which familia are you from?" Bell asked, confident that she had one.

"Soma..." her voice was solemn.

He took note of the familia's name, since it would help to increase his knowledge of other familia.

With the silence, Bell thought about the girl beside him... armed... adventurer... familia...

At first, he thought she was just a small child, but the atmosphere that she had exhibited was a bit different.

Something was bothering him, so, he decided to asked her, "Um, can I ask what race are you?"

"Pallum, Mr Bell. Why?" Lili said, her head tilted a bit as she was wondering about the question.

Bell felt weird for being called 'Mr Bell' since he was fourteen years old, and hearing the girl being a Pallum...

"How old are you?" Bell said, which confused Lili.

Lili was confused as she thought why did Bell asked about her age, which was pretty rude.

Then again, she did try to steal his valis.

She wondered at the question that he had asked before... "Pallum" and "Age".

It took her for awhile, before she could connect all the dots.

"Are you..." Her eyes squinted at Bell. "-presuming Lili is a child?"

Bell nodded his head.

"Mr. Bell will be surprise at how old Lili is... and for Mr. Bell to think that Lili is a child."

She looked at the ground, "Then again... for Lili to be crying at Mr. Bell. Lili is so immature..."

"No. It's not immature. Crying is not bad. It helps to release the burden on ourselves." Bell tried to comfort her.

Bell got up, and took out Herana, which Lili looked with wary.

"Touch the flat side."

Lili followed his instruction, and she saw that nothing was happening, but Bell could see a green aura enveloping her.

Just like what he had done to Hestia.

"How about we form a party for tomorrow?" Bell said to Lili.

Immediately, Lili agreed to Bell's suggestion, and decided to meet up at the entrance of the Dungeon at 9.00 a.m.

\--New Scene--

"27300 valis."

Bell took the valis, and put it safely in his pouch, but a few people were watching him, and he didn't like the look they were giving him.

Greed...

He searched for a free Guild executive, and saw a familiar figure in his sight, so he made his way towards the figure.

"Um, hello."

"Hello. Is there something that I can help you with?" Eina answered.

"I want to know about Soma familia."

"Well-" Eina's word were cut short as a distant voice caught everyone's attention.

"Cut me some slack! This must be worth more than some 5000 valis!"

"Sir, we've evaluated the magic stone-"

The man grabbed the valis, and angrily walked away, while cursing the receptionist of the Guild.

"Well, that man is a member of Soma familia." Eina said to Bell, while pointing slightly at the figure that was walking away with a foul mood.

"Really?" Bell said, feeling slightly disturbed. "He looked so..."

"Desperate for valis. And we're getting this sight more and more often with Soma familia." Eina continued.

With that information in hand, he decided to go back to the Manor.

\--New Scene--

At the street in the night, Bell was walking, while thinking about his followers behind him.

They were ten of them, and they were definitely not a friendly bunch.

He sighed as he turned into an alley, and the armed group saw this as a chance to get Bell.

They all went into the alley, and saw the boy just stood there, waiting for them.

"Heh! You notice a tad bit too-guack!"

*crack*

"AAGGH!!!!"

One crack, two crack, three crack, followed by the screaming of one of the man.

The other nine looked at Bell that was breaking the man's arms and legs.

Then, Bell's eyes were looking at the nine people, and evidently, he had enough of their stalking.

If he couldn't kill, then he could disabled them.

Few minutes later...

Bell walked out of the alley as onlookers were looking at him warily, since there were screams of people at Bell's direction.

They looked at Bell, but no blood were on his clothing.

The onlookers just looked at Bell's receding figure in the distance, and made their way into the alley.

And they saw many people crying in pained, arms and legs bend at an awkward angle, which made the onlookers unable to look further.

\--New Scene--

Bell entered the Twilight Manor, and it was noticeable how the atmosphere was different.

*thud*

"Sorry..." A girl said, obviously not in the mood of working.

Seeing that, he decided to go to the training field, since he felt like training his swordplay.

Bell moved onward towards the training field, and saw Aiz training alone, which was diligent of her.

Since it was night, the many shiny mushrooms gave off light, illuminating the area with light, allowing sight for the people training in the area.

"(It's been a long time since I kiss-no! Bad thoughts go away!)"

Bell shook his head as he tried to clear the memory... the memory of his first kiss accident.

And immediately, his heart rate spike to its max as Aiz magically appeared in front of him.

He grabbed his chest as he breathe erratically.

"Are you alright.."

"I-I'm alright!" Bell stuttered.

Aiz observed him, and when she saw he was okay, she relaxed her posture, although her face remain expressionless like always.

He looked at how sweaty Aiz was, but it didn't made her any less beautiful.

Then, she proceeded to grab her weapon, and continued to practice, leaving Bell on the sideline.

Seeing that, Bell offered to be her sparring partner, which she accepted.

Clashes after clashes, and the two didn't seem to back down against each other.

After receiving the blessing, Bell could finally parried Aiz's strike, but he noticed that Aiz seemed to be... desperate.

The flow of her swordplay was not gentle, and he could see how he could easily blocked her strike.

Evidently, he knew the reason for this.

*clank*

Aiz weapon was flung out of her hand by Bell, and it surprised herself.

She looked at her weapon that got stuck on the ground, and made her way towards it, but a hand had grabbed her.

"Miss Aiz..." Bell said as he looked at her, worried.

"You didn't rest, didn't you? Miss Aiz... you need to rest."

\--New Scene--

Aiz took a soap, and washed her body with it as she let the shower head to cleanse the foam off her body.

Meanwhile, Bell stood outside the bathhouse as he wanted to make sure that Aiz wouldn't go back training.

And soon, with a towel on her body, which Bell caught a glimpsed as he looked the other way.

"... thanks... you can go now.."

"Okay..." Bell said as he walked away.

And coincidentally, Aiz walked at the same direction as Bell.

Aiz looked at Bell that was moving at a place... a place that was next to Aiz's bedroom. "...Where are you going?"

Bell looked at Aiz, confused, and then at the room... Loki's room.

Bell looked back at Aiz, and somehow, sweat started to form on his forehead, and he didn't know the reason.

Actually, he knew...

They just stood there, Aiz next to him as she looked at him, her eyes blinking once... and then twice.

And Aiz just entered her bedroom, leaving Bell outside to think about what he had done.

He assumed that he had made a bad impression at Aiz, and decided to retire towards his room.

Few minutes later...

Aiz had already wore her nightgown as she looked out the window, while she recalled the incident in the Dungeon.

She looked at the stars in the sky, and recalled the fight with the new boss monster.

The others made a perimeter around Aiz as the center, which allowed her to solely focused on fighting the boss.

She had managed to defeat the boss monster, but she still felt that it was not enough.

She knew that she couldn't save everyone, but it pained her to see a friend fading away, looking at her with their lifeless eyes.

*click*

She heard the sound of Loki's door being opened, and she had decided to look outside.

There, she saw Loki going out of her room, probably she had just came back from meeting with the deceased family, and gathering info about the new monster.

And Loki saw Aiz looking at her as she stared at Aiz, "Aiz... what is it? Do ya need something?"

The incident was one thing, and seeing Bell casually moved towards Loki's room... she wanted to know... did something happened?

"...Why Bell went to your room?"

"He did? Huh... I guess sleeping with me became a habit then." Loki answered nonchalantly.

"(Sleep... with Loki...)"

She felt pained... not knowing why she felt it.

She didn't injure herself, but there was this prickling sensation in her chest.

Immediately, Loki grabbed Aiz hand, and brought Aiz with her as she moved towards a place.

And arriving at the place, it was Bell's bedroom.

Aiz could see Loki using her master key to open Bell's room, and with the door opened, she could see Bell sleeping on the bed.

Immediately, she pulled Aiz towards the bed, and let go of her hand.

Slowly, Loki moved into the bed, and laid next to Bell comfortably.

She didn't know for what reason Loki had brought her here, but seeing her being comfortable around Bell, Aiz felt the prickling sensation came back.

A few seconds later, Loki noticed that Aiz was still standing, "Well, ain't cha gonna sleep?"

"Sleep?" Aiz said, confused.

It made Aiz questioned Loki's intention.

"Yeah? At the other side." Loki said.

Aiz looked at Loki, and at Bell as she slowly understood what Loki meant by sleeping.

The heavy feeling that she felt had simply vanished as she looked at the unoccupied side of Bell.

Slowly, she made her way there, and laid down at Bell's left.

"Ruffle his hair... it'll help ya to rest.."

"..rest?" Aiz said as she was hesitant that rubbing the boy's hair would help her to rest.

Nevertheless, she tried to ruffle his hair slowly, as to not wake him up.

"(It feels soft...)"

She stroke Bell's hair gently once, and was shy to continue, but seeing Loki constantly rubbing his hair, Aiz followed her action.

*ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle* *ruffle*

Then, Loki stopped her ruffling as she looked at Bell's sleeping face, enjoying how peaceful he looked.

"This time expedition is the largest lost we had since I started my familia..." Loki said, remembering the tragedy that had happened.

Aiz still continued to ruffle Bell's hair, but her expression had a bit of sadness in it.

"...I'm sorry... it's because I'm not strong enough..."

"Aiz... you can't save everyone... but you had helped to reduce the casualties." Loki said, trying to cast away Aiz's thought of blaming herself for the death of her friends.

Both went silent as they ruffled the boy's hair.

Loki noticed at how the boy's cheek had this slight tint on it.

"Ya know? I heard that the boy kiss ya during training. Is that right?" Loki said.

Aiz hesitated, but nodded anyway as her cheeks tinted pink.

Seeing Aiz act embarrassed, Loki decided to increase her teasing, since there was someone that was eavesdropping their conversation.

"Do ya want to kiss him again? He's sleeping right now..."

Loki noticed how Bell's cheeks were getting redder.

And when Aiz hesitated for a long time, Bell cheeks were red all the way, that it would take someone clueless, or preoccupied like Aiz, to not notice it.

"Looks like Aiz is considering it... Bell." Loki whispered into his right ear, and it made him shivered.

Immediately, Bell got out of the bed as he flapped his shirt, feeling his body was hot, which was true.

Aiz looked at Bell that was standing, and felt a little bit bad, since she thought that they might had disturbed his sleep.

"...sorry... for disturbing your sleep.." Aiz said as she got out of the bed.

Meanwhile, Loki was laughing at Bell's reaction.

Then, Loki stopped, "Well, this time we're going to sleep properly so... get back in."

Bell didn't move, since Aiz was there, and it would be weird for him to just go into the bed with Loki.

"In." Loki said.

Obedient... just like a pet, Bell got on the bed, and laid his body to rest.

He just got this feeling to not disobey Loki, and his feeling was proved to be true when...

"And you too, Aiz."

Aiz obediently got into the bed, at Bell's left side, which surprised Bell at how Aiz, a strong adventurer obediently obeyed Loki.

It didn't took that long for Loki and Aiz to fall asleep as their hands were on his hair.

He didn't know what was so special about his hair, but it did help them to relax.

If he thought about it, he was sleeping with two girls, but he was not bothered by it... okay, he lied.

Then again, it was always the warmth feeling that made him drowsy.

Just like the only comfort he had before... the heat of fire, keeping him warmth from the cold and harm.

\--New Scene--

It was a large room, as there was a figure standing at the side of a large bed.

"Loki expedition team had failed to conquer the 59th floor... " Ottar gave his report.

"Hm... do you think you can reach the 59th floor?" Freya asked.

"Without casualties... no."

"Well, anything interesting?"

"Ten adventurers had been injured today by someone..." Ottar stated.

Freya looked bored as there were nothing interesting happening in the city.

She sighed, and looked at Ottar that was standing at the side.

Soon, her hands made its way towards Ottar's face, "Entertain me..."

0000000

I give my thanks to 'JASk21' for spurring my mind into doing this and I did say 'partially accepted' since I don't know where this story would go actually.

30/8/2018

\--Bell.Cranell--

Valis: 51090

Equipment: Herana, Reazeus, small pouch

\--Bell.Cranell--


	5. chapter 5

Dark... no one was in his sight as the taste of iron lingered inside his mouth, red fluid smeared his lips to his chin.

He didn't realize that his vision was blurred by his own blood, hence his sight was blurred almost to being blinded.

Another hard blow had almost knocked his consciousness away as he skidded on the cold earth, which fortunately had removed the blood blocking his eyesight.

Voices could be heard as he tried to turn his head towards the source of the sound.

"Damn! This brat is not letting the weapon go!!"

"Just cut his hands off!" A male voiced out his thought.

He rolled to the right with a residue of his dwindling strength.

The earth shattered as the strike from one of the man missed him.

His body could be seen so bruised up, with his clothes mostly covered in red, evidently from his own blood.

He got up... trying to get away from the group of people, but he was surrounded, since he was in the main camp of the bandits.

"Oi-oi-oi! Where yer think your going, huh!?"

He tried to stand up.

*bam*

He was propelled back by another hard kick, which fortunately was dampened by the weapon that he was holding onto tightly.

*clink* *clink*

A female was walking towards him as he heard the sound of something heavy being dragged on the ground.

He could feel something metallic around his neck, which was what he assumed as a metal choker with chain that was used on animals.

He looked at the ground in front of him as someone's shoes appeared in his sight.

His eyes moved up to see someone looking back at him.

"Heh! I respect you kid for not letting the weapon go-" The man said as he turned around with his back facing Bell, "-and so! You are worthy to be our entertainment torture toys! It's rare to find a toy as durable as you, don't you think so boys!" The man laughed towards the other bandits as they had also laughed along.

"Bring the metal whip to me." The man in front of him ordered to one of the bandits.

Dread filled his mind as he saw the rough shaped whip being given towards the man in front of him.

Bell struggled to run away, but was bounded by the choker on his neck.

A sinister smile appeared on the man's face as he lifted the whip up high, and brought it down with a greater force.

*clink*

The sound of metals clashing with each other resounded in his ears as it intensified.

Eyes wide opened, Bell tried to catch his breath as he was breathing pretty hard.

He looked at his surrounding to find that it was his room.

Not the camp of the bandits.

No metal chain...

It was only a nightmare...

A thing of the past...

Slowly, his eyes trailed towards the sleeping figure to his left as he made sure that he didn't wake her up.

"(Still sleeping...)" He said as he looked at her sleeping face, and also at her nape that was pure white.

His eyes trailed a bit down, and he snapped his head away.

"(...not good, not good...)"

He carefully made his way out of the bed, and noticed that Loki was nowhere in sight.

Maybe she got up early?

Casting that aside, he went to get himself prepared as he promised to meet up with Lili at the Dungeon.

\--New Scene--

Crowd of adventurers surged in an out of the Dungeon, but fortunately, Bell managed to find Lily in the midst of the crowd thanks to his ability.

"Mr. Bell!!!" Lily shouted as she saw him approaching.

Bell smiled at her as he stood in front of her.

"Are you ready, Lily?"

"I'm ready, Mr. Bell!" Lily replied, her large back ready on her back.

Slowly, the two entered the Dungeon, lost in the sea of adventurers.

At the 7th floor of the Dungeon...

Lily was happy that she had found someone that would accompany her to the Dungeon.

And for once, she was a bit surprised that the journey from the 1st floor to the 7th floor felt pretty smooth.

But just staying back from the fight did make her bored so she gave a fire support a few times.

Nevertheless, it was the first time that she could lay back and enjoy the view of the Dungeon, while Bell do his thing.

She was enjoying it... no verbal insults... no backstabbing... but she still had a bit of her guard up around Bell.

Although Bell was a nice person, that didn't mean that she would let herself be unguarded.

That would be stupid of her...

Last night was an exception...

Nonetheless, they were now at the 7th floor killing some Needle Rabbits and Killer Ants.

She was literally in crystal heaven as she picked up all the crystals on the ground and putting them into her backpack.

She could see that the area was cleaned up rather nicely by Bell as there were no sightings of any monsters in the area.

Bell was literally killing the monsters even before they managed to emerge for the first time.

*crack*

She looked at the direction of the sound, but Bell was already running towards the wall.

His two blade stab the first and the second Killer Ants, and continued at the final Killer Ants.

All of a sudden, the ground beneath Bell collapsed.

Lily was shocked, but took a breath of relieved to see Bell standing away from the hole.

Bell looked at the hole with wary eyes as he saw a swarm of Killer Ants heading towards their position.

A swift glance at Lily told him that she was worried of their situation, which was true if it was another party.

But with him here, it should be fine.

He reverse gripped his right blade as its tip pointed away from his back, his left blade pointed to the front.

His two feet ready to spring into action.

Leaving a cloud of dust, he spun counterclockwise as he went through the swarm of Killer Ants.

If one were to look, they would think that he was just spinning around, but in actual fact, he was not just spinning around.

While he spun, he moved his two blade up and down so that he would have a cylindrical offense around his body.

It also act as a cylindrical defense from physical attack.

Although the weakness of this attack were situated below and above him, which were unprotected.

A view from above showed how Bell was creating a line of monster corpses as he moved and ran rampant towards the Killer Ant's swarm.

Tried as they might, but the Killer Ant's swarm couldn't land a hit on Bell.

Lily also provided support for Bell as she shoot her little balista towards the swarm.

Meanwhile, Bell would keep this up for a short time, and went back to Lily, while he observed the situation.

He needed to make sure that Lily was safe, since she was his supporter.

And then, he repeated his assault till the swarm was gone.

Bell could be seen sweating a lot as he tried to catch his breath.

"Didn't think there are that many Killer Ants. Are you alright there, Lily?" Bell said as he looked at his supporter picking up the crystals on the ground.

Lily put her thumbs up as she showed a genuine smile.

Well, it was nice seeing someone smile... sometimes.

Then again, he had an unsettling feeling that he couldn't quite get a grip on it.

Something felt off...

He looked around for something that was ticking his instinct on.

Quiet... the surrounding was too quiet.

But why?

"Hey Lily. Let's get back... I don't feel so good."

"Wait! Lily will pick up the crystals first!" She replied from far away.

After a few minutes, Lily managed to collect all the crystals on the floor, which was a surprised to Bell.

As the two decided to get back to the surface, Bell saw a group of adventurers following them.

Or maybe they had just finished their hunt and decided to go back.

Who knows... and besides, there was only one way to the stair to go up.

As the party started to get closer, Bell could now see the details that he couldn't make before.

Bell wouldn't pay much attention to them if not for the state they were in.

They were six people in total, two female and four male.

Injuries could be seen on their figures, and it was not a minor one.

One male was lacking an eye, and one female had a bandage with red stain on her stomach, probably a fresh wound.

His gaze hardened as he saw a body being carried.

There was a casualty...

"Hey, you two should get out of the Dungeon for the time being. It's not safe here." A male spoke.

Slowly, the party started to recede into the distance as Bell and Lily stood still at their spot.

"Hey." Bell nudged Lily. "Let's go back."

"Hm..." Lily replied, breaking out of her daze.

\--New Scene--

Bell and Lily arrived at the Guild and later found out what was happening in the Dungeon.

A group of Minotaur were swarming the 10th floor.

People were busy spreading the information as the Guild seemed a bit noisy than usual.

The Guild was probably making a quest to get rid of the Minotaur, but Bell was not here for that.

Lily went towards the counter as she carefully unloaded the crystal that she had carried.

"That's quite a harvest you two have collected." The man behind the counter said to them.

One by one, the man evaluated the crystals as Lily and Bell waited for the process to end.

"37000 valis." The man said.

"(That's quite a lot...)" Bell thought to himself.

Keeping the valis, Bell approached Lily and went outside of the Guild to find a place to split their profit.

At that time, a group was watching Bell and Lily.

"Hey, you heard that?" The first man said.

"Of course. Easy valis." The second man answered with a gleeful smile.

"But that boy is quite strong. I heard he beat ten people with ease." The first man pointed out.

"But... a level 1 is no match for a level 2."

A larger build man came into view as the other four people looked at the man.

The group then could be seen moving out of the Guild.

\--New Scene--

At the Twilight Manor...

Bell and Lily could be seen sitting at the lobby area.

"Well, now that we're here, you're... Lily?" Bell asked the Pallum.

But she didn't respond.

"Lily?" Bell asked again.

"...L-Lily didn't think that Mr. Bell is from Loki familia... L-Lily will go now!" She said as she stood up abruptly.

"Wait! Relax!" Bell said as he had his hand on Lily's hand.

Maybe bringing her into the Twilight Manor was a bad idea.

But it was the only place he felt safe enough for him and Lily to trade their valis.

Currently, Bell and Lily were at the lobby area, which was spacious.

And at the side was the dining room where Bell and the others frequently had their meal.

"Lily... no one is going to eat you here-"

*chomp*

With her arms around Lily, Loki bit Lily's nape gently, which caused a greater reaction from the Pallum.

*explosion*

Few minutes later...

Reveria could be seen pinching Loki's ear as Reveria seek an apology from Lily.

"Lily will pay for the damage couch!" Lily said as she took a glance at the couch she had destroyed using her magic item.

A magic item that she would use for desperate time.

"No need. We will cover the damage done since Loki was the one that started this mess-" Reveria looked at Loki. "-and you will be prohibited from drinking wine for today."

Immediately, Loki got down on her feet and grabbed onto Reveria's legs, crying to lift the ban on wine.

Soon, Loki and Reveria were out of sight as the situation had calmed down.

"Mr. Bell's goddess is quite a lively one..."

"... yeah... Well..." Bell trailed off.

"(Oh? Looks like she's calm now.)"

Not how he intended it to be, but this was his opportunity.

Meanwhile, out on the street elsewhere. ...

"Tch! Easy lien? That's a fucking lion den right there!!" The large build man screamed at his team.

Anything connected with the Loki familia meant trouble, and by trouble, he meant really, really big trouble.

Loki familia was not only famous for their strength, but also for their reputation of being the 'familia slayer'.

Although the Loki familia was second compared to the Freya familia, Loki familia held the highest count for destroying other familia.

Rumour had it that they destroyed other familia because they were bored.

Though their target were the bad familia, it still instilled fear at the other familia.

"Then, we just target the little Pallum then? She seem easy enough." One of his goon spoke.

The large build man gave it a thought.

And greed got the better of him.

\--New Scene--

Lily was on her way to her secret hideout, but she felt there was a group of people following her.

Called it her years of instinct being a thief.

And beside, they were not subtle about it.

Going into a large crowd, she activated her magic 'Cinder Ella' and changed into another person.

Soon, she felt the group was not on her trail anymore, and maneuvered back towards her secret hideout.

At the bad guys...

"Damn! Where is that little Pallum!?" The leader of the grunt shouted.

"W-we don't know!? She was here before! B-but-"

"How could she disappeared just like that?! Go and spread out!"

Meanwhile, somewhere nearby...

Bell was leaning on a corner of a building.

Maybe he was a bit paranoid, following Lily back after she left the Twilight Manor.

But somehow he was glad that his intuition didn't fail him as there was a group following her.

But from what he saw, it seemed like she could handle herself as she had that shape-shifting magic, so he decided to just walked around randomly.

Besides, Orario was a new place for him.

Maybe learn something new?

Oh. Wait... maybe he should visit Hestia?

\--New Scene--

Walking around on the street, which was crowded like usual would be a confusing journey if not for his special abilities.

He went straight, nearing the green dot which was Hestia's location.

Right around the corner, he leaned his head in a way that he wouldn't be seen.

He saw that Hestia was talking with someone, probably her employer as she was given something.

Hestia smiled and went away.

Seeing this, Rufus stealthily followed her back until they reached at an abandoned church.

"(Hmm... so she's... living here?)"

Bell stood just beside the entrance of the church as Hestia had already disappeared somewhere in the inner building.

Probably a secret entrance in the church.

He trailed his finger on the wooden frame where there should be a door, but now only a few imprints of what used to be a hinge.

Dust were thick on his finger, probably accumulated for years he assumed.

"(Is it safe to live here?)" He thought to himself as he could see how the building was made up of wood.

It wouldn't be a surprise if the whole building was infested with termites.

He stepped inside, his footsteps echoed inside the building.

And soon, he arrived at what seemed to be a door leading towards the secret hideout in the church.

He opened it and went down a staircase.

As he reached the end of the staircase, he saw a room which had a sofa.

He made his was into the room, instinct immediately took him over as he pinned down Hestia to the floor.

His left hand holding Hestia's right hand that was gripping onto a frying pan, while his other hand pinned Hestia's other hand.

"Huh! B-Bell!? What are you doing here?"

"Um... I... followed you? I was planning to visit... you..." Bell trailed off as he realised how their positions seemed to be a bit... daring.

He stood away quickly as he looked embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Hestia slowly stood up, the frying pan still in her hand.

Bell looked at the frying pan and back towards Hestia, "Sorry for startling you."

"No no no no! I'm sorry for trying to hit you!" Hestia answered as she tried to seek an apology.

After some compromising, both had settled down as Hestia prepared some drinks for Bell.

\--New Scene--

At the Twilight Manor...

"So, a Minotaur outbreak had happened at the 10th floor. Did any familia took on the request to exterminate them?"

"None so far..." Reveria replied.

"Then, we'll wait. If two days have pass, we'll take the quest." Finn said as he sipped upon his drinks.

"Ah. How's he doing?" Finn brought up.

"If it's about Bell... hmm... Lucille!" Reveria shouted to the faraway female wearing glasses.

"Yes, lady Reveria."

Reveria had an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Please... there's no need for formality. Well, casting that aside. May we know how Bell is doing?"

The female with glasses nodded and went away somewhere.

Few minutes later, she came back with a few pieces of paper.

"Well, his first day in the Dungeon had net him a total of 24000 valis. After spending some on foods, his valis is now 23790. His second day, he managed to obtain 27300 valis, which accumulated his wealth to 51090 valis."

"Hmm... guess our help is unneeded. I was planning on making a team to help him." Reveria said thoughtfully.

"For a beginner, he sure make a surprising amount of valis. So any info of his current whereabout?" Finn asked.

"...ah! S-sorry!" The female snapped out of her daze.

"We didn't ask him where he was going-" the female continued.

"It's alright. Lucille, right?" Finn asked the female. "As the leader of Loki familia, I excuse you from duty."

"W-wait! I-I-"

"You're tired. Please... take a rest. And tell the rest of the information division to take a break from their duty."

The female nodded her head before she excused herself.

At that moment, Reveria noticed the little jewelry the female was wearing on her finger.

A ring...

Reveria looked at the receding female figure with a bit of sadness swelling in her chest.

The casualties from their previous expedition...

One of them was the female's husband... a scout.

"You should also rest, Reveria." Finn brought her back from her melancholy.

Reveria looked at Finn as she seemed to be thinking about something.

"You're probably thinking about how I got over my grief, right? I didn't." Finn said as Reveria had a surprised look plastered on her face due to Finn's accurate guessed on her thought.

"Thanks to experiences from the past, my sense of emotions are a bit... dull..." Finn trailed off.

Soon, Reveria excused herself as Finn was left alone, sipping upon his drinks.

He got some works to do.

\--New Scene--

At the church's secret hideout...

It was a nice changed of pace when he talked with Hestia.

Although, it was a bit sad that Hestia still didn't have any familia...

Maybe he could help with fortifying the church.

It did look a little unsafe.

Immediately, the surrounding turns dark as Bell prepared for an ambush.

"Sigh... guess the power crystal have run out of juice... sorry... guess we'll be in the dark for now..." Hestia spoke.

Bell lowered and sheath his weapons.

Soon, lights flickered in the kitchen as Hestia was doing something.

Then, she came out of the kitchen with a torch, illuminating the living room.

She put the torch on a torch stand and away from any combustible materials.

No one wanted their house to burn.

"(...no familia... no power for lights...)" Bell thought as he looked at Hestia.

"Well, here. Potato... sorry if the food's not to your liking... it's all I have right now... enjoy!"

Seeing Hestia trying to show a carefree attitude, it made him recalled the whispers that he had heard before.

Hestia... the only goddess that didn't have any familia members in Orario...

He heard someone said that she was a lazy goddess, but he saw how she made an effort to work.

Maybe she might be a lazy goddess in the past, but... she was trying to change.

Still, Hestia was a new goddess in Orario so that might be one of the reason people didn't want to join her familia.

People wanted to join the strongest familia.

Finishing the potatoes Hestia served, Bell excused himself as he had decided.

He would help Hestia even if he was from a different familia.

Unknown to Bell, his will had changed something.

\--New Scene--

At the Twilight Manor...

Bell had only just arrived, and immediately, he was dragged away by Loki into her bedroom.

"Bell! Let's update yer status!!"

His shirt flew away, both hands reflexively covered his body as if to protect his modesty.

Soon, his status was being updated.

\--Bell's status--

Strength: G 231

Defense: H 111

Dexterity: G 210

Agility: E 401

Magic: I 0

Magic

Skill

Realis Phrase: Rapid Growth, continued desire results in continued growth, stronger desire results in stronger growth.

Will of change (passive): A skill that manifested due to the genuine feelings of the user. The user is now a member of two familia.

\- Loki, Hestia.

\--Bell's status--

Loki was... shocked.

She and Hestia own Bell...

What?

How!?

Why!?

Why was itsy bitsy own Bell!!!

When did Bell meet Hestia!?

What happened!?

"(No... did Bell got charmed by her big boobs!?)" Loki looked at her chest, and then at the words written on Bell's back.

*smack* *smack* *smack*

Bell cried in pain.

"CHEATER-CHEATER-CHEATER-CHEATER!!!" Loki screamed, rational thought flew out, only to be consumed with mad jealousy.

\--New Scene--

At the church...

Hestia was caught off guard as she was being flooded with an information of a person.

It was Bell, and he was in her familia.

How? What happened? How was it possible?

\--New Scene--

Oh my goodness. I love the League Of Legend' KDA. Man, the animation was magnificent! Props to the Riot Game editors and also the singers.

Well, just saying. What am I saying!?

Btw... I changed Bell status at the early chapter. He would be starting from I 0...

I don't know where I'm going with this.

\--Bell.Cranell--

Valis: 69590

Equipment: Herana, Reazeus, small pouch

\--Bell.Cranell--


End file.
